Tourniquet



Nj v. JoNEs June 13, 1950 TOURNIQUET -Filed May 23, 1949 INVENTOR.

Patented `lune 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOURNIQUET Norris V.Jones, San Francisco, Calif.

Application May 23, 1949, Serial No. 94,830

2 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 327) This invention relates to surgical appliancesand moreparticularly to a tourniquet.

In the application of a tourniquet on a limb so as to effect theextending of veins for application of serum or other medicine into theveins, the tourniquets at present available and in use are soconstructed that when pressure has been released, the release ofpressure is eifected quickly so that a needle which is projecting into avein frequently jumps out, thereby requiring the re-application oi thepressure by the tourniquet. It is an object of this invention to providea tourniquet embodying an inflatable band adapted to be applied to anarm or limb, which is so constructed that pressure may vbe graduallyreleased, thereby eliminating the possibility of the muscular reactiondue to sudden release of pressure and also eliminate the possibility ofthe needle being forced out under muscular reaction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tourniquet of thiskind, including an improved means for holding the band on the arm rlimb.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tcurniquet of thiskind, including an iniiatable band formed of a pair of face abuttingresilient strips which are secured together at their outer edges for amajor portion of the length thereof, so as to thereby provide arelatively long inflatable tube designed to apply equal pressurecompletely about a limb or arm.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in thearrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in thedrawing and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan View of a tourniquet constructed according to anembodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral Il! designates generally aninatable band which is formed of a pair of face abutting resilient orrubber strips II and I2. The strips II and I2 are secured together alongtheir longitudinal edges, as indicated at I3, and are secured togetherat one end, as indicated at I4. The strips II and I2 are also securedtogether at a point inwardly from an end thereof, as indicated at I5,and the remainder of the strips II and I2 are secured together, asindicated at I6.

The two strips II and I2 at the point where they are secured together inface abutting relation, as indicated at I6, are formed into an elongatedtapering tongue I'I. A loop or narrow strap I8 is secured to the band I0at a point between the ends thereof and within the inflatable area,being extended about the lengthwise edges of the strips II and I2, asshown in Figure 5, and then secured to the lower strip I2, as indicatedat I9. By extending the strap I9 about the lengthwise edges of the bandIIB when the tongue I'I is threaded through the strap It, any strainapplied to the strap IB will not be applied vdirectly to the securingmeans I9.

The securing means for holding the strips II and I2 together and thestrap I8 onto the band I0 may be cementitious materiali or may beelectronic sealing and securing means. It will, of course, be understoodthat the band I0 may be formed of any suitable flexible material, eitherrubber, plastic or air impervious fabric.

In order to provide a means whereby the band I0 may be inflated anddeflated, I have provided a tube 20 which communicates with the spacebetween the two strips II and I2. The tube 2li extends at right anglesto the length of the band I U and has connected therewith an inflatingbulb 2l. The bulb 2| includes a pair of springpressed check valves 22and 23 so that air may readily be pumped into the band I0.

In order to provide a means whereby the band I may be either graduallyor quickly deflated, I have provided a spring-pressed deflating valve 24which includes a housing 25 and a valve plug 26 carried by an elongatedstem 2l. A spring 28 constantly urges the plug 26 outward to engage thevalve seat 29 which is formed on the inner end of the housing 25. A knobor button 3i) is fixed to the outer end of the stem 21 and is adapted tobe pressed inwardly to provide for movement of the valve plug 26 to openposition.

In the use and operation of this device, the band I0 is wrapped aboutthe arm with the tongue I'I threaded through the strap I8, and thetongue I'I may then be extended underneath the band I 0 after passingthrough the strap I8. The bulb 2| is then operated to inflate the band IIl in order to provide the desired pressure on the arm. After theoperation has been performed on the arm, such as extending a needle intoa vein, the band I may be gradually deflated by pressure on the releasebutton 30. In practice the band IU is preferably gradually released soas to eliminate any shock to the nerves or muscles and thereby preventa, muscular reaction tending to force the needle from the arm.

I do not mean to coniine myself to the exact details of constructionherein disclosed, but claim all variations falling Within the purview ofthe appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A tourniquet comprising an elongated in'' ilatable member formed of apair of at strips secured together along the edges thereof, a tubeVcommunicating at one end withthe space` between said strips, a,resilient bulb connected to the other end of said tube andcommunicatingltherewith, a spring-pressed check valve between said bulb and said tubeconstantly urged to seated position towards said bulb, :an air inletopening to said4 bulb; a spring-pressed check valve 'constantly urged toseated position towards theatmosphere, and a deilating` valve in saidtube in'- cluding a valve housing'extending'at right angles to saidtube-and formed with a Valve seat onthe inner end thereof, a valvestemloosely slidable in said housingA and having one end extending outwardlythereof, a valve member on the other end of saidlstem engageable withsaid seat, an operating knob ori-saidV one end'of saidstem; and a coiledspring in said housingr constantly urging said stem outwardly-forseatingsaidvalve memberwhereby said operatingiknob mayfbe'd'epressed forunseating said valve member and gradually releasing the airin saidinatable member.

2. A tourniquet comprising an elongated meme ber formed of aV pair offlat strips secured together along a substantialportion;ofthe'ioppositeside edges thereof to provide an inflatable portion, the remainder ofsaid strips being cementitiously secured together throughout the widthsthereof to provide securing strap portions, a tube communicating at oneend with said inatable portion, an inflating bulb carried by the otherend of said tube, a, deilating valve housing communicating with saidtube intermediate the length of the latter,y a valve seat formed on theinner endl of said housing, a valve stem loosely sliding in saidhousing, a valve member on the inner end of said stem engageable withsaid seat for sealing said tube, the outer end of said stem extendingbeyond the outer end of said housing and having an operating knobsecured thereto, a coiled spring in said housing constantly urgingsaidrvalve stem and member outwardly to seated position whereby saidoperating knob may be depressed for unseating said valve member tothereby gradually release air from said inflatable portion, and atransversely disposed loop forming member secured at its opposite endsto the side edges of said inatable portion and adapted to receive saidsecuring strap portion when said inflatable portion is engaged about thearm of a patient.

NORRIS V. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,408,919 Wilson Mar. 7, 19221,644,824 Fedde Oct. 11, 1927 1,827,241 Kempf Oct. 13, 1931

